(KING SALMON) – A new Tier II subsistence hunt for Southern Alaska Peninsula (SAP) caribou is scheduled to open this fall in Game Management Subunit 9D. Composed of split fall and winter seasons, Permit Hunt TC506 will run August 1 through September 30 with a bag limit of one bull, and from November 15 through March 31 with a bag limit of one caribou (either sex) for hunters who do not harvest a bull in the fall.

The application period for this season’s hunt will be May 1 through May 31, 2013. Online applications (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntlicense.main) must be submitted before 5 p.m. on May 31, 2013. Hard-copy applications must be postmarked by May 31 in order for the application to be accepted. To hunt caribou in Subunit 9D, hunters must possess a valid Alaska resident hunting license and the Tier II permit.

The SAP caribou herd in 1983 was estimated to include more than 10,000 animals. Following a population decline to 1,500 caribou in the 1990s, the herd increased to 4,200 caribou by 2002 before declining again to 600 by 2007. SAP caribou made substantial progress toward recovery after wolves were selectively removed from calving grounds between 2008 and 2010. Noting the subsequent increase in SAP caribou, the Alaska Board of Game authorized the Tier II subsistence hunt during its February 2013 meeting.

Tier II permits are valid on the mainland only in Unit 9D (state lands, federal lands, and private lands) and do not include Unimak Island. Hunting may be closed early by emergency order when the harvest quota has been reached.